Device for storing weft material in weaving machines

ABSTRACT

The storage container is situated between the bobbin and the shed of the weaving machine to permit laying up of the weft material for subsequent picking into the shed. The container can be vertically arranged or curved and can be subjected to an internal airstream for guiding of the weft material through the box.

United States Patent Inventor Erwin Piarrwaller Winterthur, SwitzerlandApp]. No. 808,396

Filed Mar. 19, 1969 Patented Apr. 20,1971

Assignee Sulzer Brothers, Ltd.

Winterthur, Switzerland Priority Mar. 21, 1968 Switzerland 4209/68DEVICE FOR STORING WEFI MATERIAL IN WEAVING MACHINES 21 Claims, 6Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 139/122, 139/ l 26 Int. Cl 003d 47/34 Field of Search 66/125,

[56} References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,233,634 2/1966 Kobayashi139/ 127 3,395,865 8/1968 McKinnon l39/ l FOREIGN PATENTS 1,510,15312/1967 France 139/122 Primary Examiner1-lenry S. J audonAttorney-Kenyon, Kenyon, Reilly, Carr & Chapin ABSTRACTiThe storagecontainer is situated between the bobbin and the shed of the weavingmachine to permit laying up of the weft material for subsequent pickinginto the shed. The container can be vertically arranged or curved andcan be subjected to an internal airstream for guiding of the weftmaterial through the box.

PATENTEU M20127: 3575217,

SHEET 1 BF 3 EDWIN PFAPPWAL L El? In ventor:

PATENTEUAPRZOIS?! I 357.5217

SHEET 2 OF 3 lnvenfor:

ER'W/N PFAFPPWALLEF? A TTOP EYS PATENTED APR 20 I97! SHEET 3 [IF 3 invan fur: EA? WIN PFAPFP WAL L E R 5V IE Y5 DEVICE Milk STORWG WEFIMATERIAL IN WEAVING MACHINES This invention relates to a device forstoring weft material in weaving machines, and more particularly, toweaving machines having a weft bobbin disposed outside the shed of themachine during picking.

I-Ieretofore, in order to supply weft material to the shed of a weavingmachine, proposals have been made in which the weft material has beenwound onto a drum and thereafter has been drawn off the drum and pickedinto the shed by a weft picking means such as a gripper shuttle, apicking needle, a water jet or an air jet. These devices, however, haverequired a plurality of rotating components, for example, a rotarywinding drum or a rotary winding eye. In some instances, the weftmaterial has been taken off the drums or from a supply bobbin over endand thus has become twisted. In these instances, the twisted weftmaterial, especially when in tape fonn, has caused openings to form inthe cloth made therefrom. Further, in some instances, such as where theweft material has been of synthetic material, friction forces ofsignificant properties have arisen so as to interfere with andcomplicate the picking operation of the weft material.

In contrast to the weft tapes, the warp tapes have been relatively easyto process without twisting since they are wound untwisted onto the warpof a weaving machine and guided by suitable healds in the heald shaftand by a suitable reed and thereby straightened. On the other hand,while the weft tape has been wound in an untwisted manner on to the weftbobbin, the weft has become twisted when taken off the bobbin or storedin an over end manner.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a weft materialstorage device which is constructed with nonrotating storage parts.

It is another object of the invention to store and withdraw weftmaterial in a substantially friction free manner.

It is another object of the invention to prevent tangling and twistingof weft material during picking.

It is another object of the invention to maintain aflat weft material ina flattened condition for picking.

It is another object of the invention to produce a cloth of tapematerial which is without openings.

Briefly, the invention provides a storage device which comprises acontainer or receptacle which is positioned in a nonrotating mannerbetween a weft bobbin and a shed of a weaving machine for laying-in of acertain length of weft material for subsequent picking into the shed.The container is generally of a box-shaped cross section with aninternal thickness corresponding to the width of the tapelike weftmaterial which is to be laid into the container in the form of loops orpleats, i.e. as concertina folds. The container further has a firstopening to receive the supplied weft material from the bobbin and asecond opening through which the weft material is withdrawn for pickinginto the shed.

In one embodiment, the container is straight and is disposed in avertical position while in another embodiment the container is curved.In this latter embodiment, the inlet and outlet openings of thecontainer are situated at approximately the same level.

In addition, the invention provides a drive for moving theweft materialinto the container. This drive is positioned upstream of the containerand is also provided with a movable guide member for laying the weftmaterial into the container in a looped manner or other regular pattern.In one embodiment, the drive includes a pulley drive which can be drivenfrom the main shaft of the weaving machine. In addition, the supplybobbin for the weft material is also rotated so that the weft materialis removed tangentially rather than over end so as to remain untwisted.

The use of the container allows a large number of, for example, loops ofa weft tape, to be stored so that a large enough supply is available forpicking. Further, the weft material can be withdrawn very easily andwith practically no friction for picking. This is especially true ofsynthetic weft material. Since this synthetic material is especiallysmooth, practically no tangling, crossing and the like of the materialcan occur in the container. Also, the weft material can be withdrawnfrom the storage container and picked without twisting. This isessential if, for example, the weft material is a plastic tape, such as,a polypropylene or polyethylene tape. By withdrawing and picking such atape without twisting, the cloth which is made is close woven withoutany of the openings which would otherwise occur if the tape weretwisted. In thislatter regard, a close woven cloth can be made where thewarp tapes are also untwisted as required, for example, for sacks usedfor picking purposes (e.g. for granular material such as sugar or thelike).

In addition to the above, the invention also provides a means tomaintain a flow of air in the container so as to facilitate storage andpassage of the weft material and a means to control the quantity of weftmaterial supplied to the container per unit time according to the supplyof weft material already in the container.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become moreapparent from the following detailed description and appended claimstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a device according to theinvention as well as a schematic of various cooperating components of aweaving machine;

FIG. 2 illustrates a view of the container taken on line II-II of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a view similar to FIG. 2 of a modified containeraccording to the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of a modified drive for the weft materialaccording to the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a modified container of curved shape according to theinvention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a weft bobbin 1 is rotatable on a pivot 2 on aweaving machine base 3, only parts of which are shown for clarity. Thebobbin 1 has a core 10 which carries a brake disc 4 on which a brakeweight 5 pivotally mounted by a pivot 6 on the machine base 3 bears sothat the bobbin is slightly braked during operation. A weft tape 7approximately 4 mm. wide and made, for example, of polypropylene, iswound on to the bobbin ll. This tape is fed by a drive means such as apair of pulleys 8, 9 to a storage container 11 located downstream of thebobbin 1. One pulley 8 is attached to a shaft 12 driven by an electricmotor 13 as indicated by an arrow 15, by way of a belt or chain drive14. The other pulley 9 is biased under the influence of a compressionspring 16 towards the driven pulley 8 so as to grip and drive the wefttape 7 therebetween towards the container 11. Alternatively, the pulley9 may be driven by the pulley 8, by way of a gearing.

The shaft 12 carries a cam 17, over which a fork 19 which is pivotableat an intermediate point 18 engages. This fork 19 extends beyond thepivot point 18 in the form of a rod 21 with a guide eye 22 on its freeend. Upon rotation of the shaft 12, the cam 17 rotates and causes thefork 19'to oscillate so that the guide eye 22 moves continuallybackwards and forwards between the positions 22a, 22b shown by chainlines, as indicated by an arrow 23.

The bobbin 1 is arranged with respect to the pulleys 8, 9 so that theweft tape 7 is pulled off the bobbin 1 tangentially by the pulleys 8, 9.Further, the pulley 8 is continuously driven so that the bobbin turnscontinuously in the direction of the arrow 241. The weft tape 7 is alsothreaded or otherwise engaged by the oscillating guide eye 22 so as tobe laid into the storage container 11 in the form of loops 24'.

The container 11 is generally of a rectangular box-shaped cross sectionand has an inlet opening 23 at the top to receive the delivered wefttape 7 and an outlet opening 26 at the bottom to permit removal of thereceived weft tape. The outlet opening 26 is positioned to allow theweft tape 7 to pass out through a yarn brake 27, a fixed eye 28, a yarnwithdrawing mechanism 29 and another fixed eye 31, as is known, of theweaving machine 3. Inorder to pick the weft tape 7, the front end 7a ofthe tape is gripped by a gripper shuttle 32 and inserted (arrow 33) intoa shed 36 formed by warp tapes 34 in the upper shed position and warptapes 35 in the lower shed position.

Referring to FIG. 2, the storage container 11 has an internal width lessthan its length and height and somewhat greater than the internal widthd of the weft tape 7. The width 0 of the box is therefore adapted to thewidth d of the weft. If desired, the width 0 of the box may beadjustable, so that the box can also be used for weft tapes of otherwidths. For claritys sake, the individual loops 24' in HO. 1 are shownwith excessively large curves and gaps; in reality the loops arerelatively close together, due to the loops above them.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in order to control the amount of weft tape 7delivered to the container 11, a control means comprising a pair oflight barriers are attached to the container 11. Each light barrierconsists of a light source 41, 42 on one side of the container and anassociated photoelectric cell 43, 44 offset relative to the light sourceon the other side of the container. The purpose of this offsetarrangement is to make the rays from the light sources pass through afairly large number of layers of weft tape, so that the differencebetween the light intensity obtained at the photoelectric cell whenlayers of weft tape are present and the light intensity occurring whenno layers are present is very marked. The control process is thereforemore reliable. The light sources 41, 42 are on one circuit 45 whereasthe photoelectric cells 43, 44 are on two other circuits 46, 47. Allthree circuits 45-47 are connected to an electronic control device or anamplifier 48 which is supplied from a power source 49.

The motor 13 which drives the pulleys 8, 9 is also connected to theamplifier 48, by way of three phases, R, S, T and a neutral wire 0. Inthe particular embodiment shown the motor 13 can run at two speeds. Forexample, when the storage process in the container 11 begins, the motor13 runs at full speed, so that the stock of tape gradually rises in thecontainer 11. If the tape reaches the light barrier 41, 43, anelectrical signal goes to the electronic device 48 via the circuit 46 toreset the motor 13, for example at half-speed. The quantity of tape laidin through the opening per unit time is therefore reduced.

If the stock of tape in the container 11 still continues to rise, themotor 13 is stopped when the tape reaches the light barrier 42, 44 via asignal from the circuit 47. lf, after falling below the light barrier42, 44 the stock of tape gradually drops below the barrier 41, 43, whilethe motor 13 is running at half-speed, the motor 13 is set at full speedagain whereupon the stock rises again, and so on.

In order to facilitate movement of the loops 24' of weft tape 7 throughthe container 11, the container 11 is formed with a sievelike bottom 51and extends downwards in the form of a funnellike portion 52 below thebottom 51 and an air intake 53 of a blower 54 is connected to thefunnellike portion 52. The blower 52 is operated so as to maintain apermanent downward stream of air (arrow 55) in the container 11 so thatthe loops 24' move down fast enough during picking, making room for moreloops to be laid in above.

In order to prevent the individual loops 24' of weft tape 7 fromadhering to the inside walls of the container 11, the tape 7 is coatedwith an antistatic fluid. This fluid is applied to the tape 7 bymounting a dish 56 filled with the fluid below the spring biased pulley9 so that the lower portion of the pulley dips into the dish 56.Consequently, rotation of the pulley 9 continually brings some fluid onto the tape 7 which is to be laid into the container 11 so that anyelectrostatic charge, such as may arise in the case of syntheticmaterial due to friction disappears. As a result, the individual loops24 do not adhere to the inside wall of the container 11, but drop downinside without being attracted by the container.

Referring to FIG. 3, the storage container 11a can alternatively beformed with internal vertical grooves 61, as by being corrugated so thatthe grooves 61 serve to guide the stream of air through the container.

Referring to FIGS, 4 and 5, the pivot 2 of the bobbin 1 can also beheld, in vertically disposed U-shaped members which define grooves 62attached to the base 3 of the weaving machine and can gradually sink inthese grooves 62 as the winding diameter decreases. The bobbin 1 thusbears on the pulley 8 as a result of its own weight so as to be driventhereby. This pulley 8 is further mounted on a shaft 66 of the electricmotor 13 so as to be driven directly. The pulley 8 is also a frictionalcontact with the pulley 9.

In order to guide the weft tape 7 into the container (not shown), theshaft 63 for the pulley 9 carries a cam 71 which cooperates with a link72. The free end of this link 72 engages a yarn guide lever 67'pivotallymounted on the shaft 66 at an intemiediate point 65. This lever 67 isfurther connected by a shaft 75 (FIG. 5) to another yarn guide lever 670on the opposite side of the pulley 8 which also pivots freely about theshaft 66 for the pulley 8. The shaft 73 carries a guide roll 69 which isdriven by the pulley 8 by way ofa belt drive 74 and a roll 76, and is infrictional contact with another roll. 71 rotatably mounted at the freeends of the respective levers 67, 67a. These rolls 69, 71 serve to guidethe weft tape 7 during reciprocation of the levers 67, 67a into theloops 24. A yarn guide 75 is also mounted on the yarn guide levers 67,67a to further guide the weft tape laterally between the rolls 69, 71while reciprocating with the levers 67, 67a.

Referring to H6. 6, wherein like parts are indicated by like referencecharacters as above, the container can alternatively be curved, forexample, as a semicircular storage container 81. The container 81 alsohas a sievelike portion 51a approximately in the middle to which the airintake 53 in connected. The light sources 41, 42 and photoelectric cells43, 44 are situated opposite one another in this embodiment so as to beon about the same horizontal plane. The form of container 81 is used ina similar manner with respect to that described above. However, in thiscase, the weft tape 7 enters and leaves the container 81 at the samelevel. Also, as the weft tape 7 is drawn out as shown, the tape is notsubjected to the weight of any tape above.

Alternatively, the storage container may have shapes other than thoseshown in FIGS. 1 and 6, especially if the storage device is to be used,for example, for weft material in filament form. In this case, thestorage container may, for example, be cylindrical, and the filament tobe stored may be laid in the container in the form of, for example, acircle or a horizontal figure eight. Such a shape of storage containeris especially suitable if a synthetic weft is used, which of course hasa particularly smooth surface.

Also, for example, the stream of air in the storage container may beomitted or may run in the opposite direction, ie from bottom to top. Inthe latter case, the stream of air loosens the weft material and maykeep it more or less suspended. As a result, when drawn out of thecontainer for picking, the weft material may come out particularlyeasily and free of tangles. Possibly, also, the weft material may betaken off the weft bobbin over end and then fed to a storage container,for example, through the pulleys 8, 9. In this case, however, the weftmaterial will twist as it comes off the bobbin. Even so, a storagecontainer for laying in the weft material and storing a certain lengthof weft may be useful.

Finally, instead of using a photoelectric control device 41- -44, anyother suitable control device for adapting the quantity of weft materialfed to the storage container to the length already stored may be used.

lclaim:

1. In combination with a weft bobbin having a supply of weft materialthereon and disposed outside a shed of a weaving machine, a storagedevice for storing the weft material comprising a container positionedbetween said weft bobbin and said shed for receiving and laying in acertain length of weft material said container having a first opening atone end for receiving the weft material from said weft bobbin and asecond opening at an opposite end for delivering the stored weftmaterial to said shed.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the weft material isa weft tape and said container is of box shape having an internal widthsized to receive the width of the weft tape whereby the weft tape can belaid into said container in the fonn of loops.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said container iscurved between said openings.

4. In combination with a weft bobbin having a supply of weft materialthereon and disposed outside a shed of a weaving machine, a storagedevice for storing the weft material comprising a container positionedbetween said weft bobbin and said shed for receiving and laying in acertain length of weft material said container being curved with aninlet opening at one end for receiving the weft tape and an outletopening at the same level as said inlet opening at the opposite end forwithdrawal of the stored weft tape.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said storage devicefurther comprises a drive means between said weft bobbin and saidcontainer for directing the weft material towards said container.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein said drive means iscontinuous in structure.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein said drive meanscooperates with said weft bobbin to drive said weft bobbin directly.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein said drive meansincludes a pair of pulleys for gripping the weft material therebetween,and a motor means for rotating at least one of said pulleys to withdrawthe weft material from said weft bobbin.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 5 which further comprises abraking means connected with said weft bobbin for braking the rotationof said weft bobbin.

10. In combination with a weft bobbin having a supply of weft materialthereon and disposed outside a shed of a weaving machine, a storagedevice for storing the weft material comprising a container positionedbetween said weft bobbin and said shed for receiving and laying in acertain length of weft material and a movable guide means upstream ofsaid container for guiding the weft material into said container in aregular fashion to form the weft material into loops within saidcontainer.

11. The combination as set forth in claim wherein said storage devicefurther comprises a drive means between said weft bobbin and said guidemeans for directing the weft material towards said container, said drivemeans being connected to said movable guide means to oscillate saidguide means in response to actuation of said drive means.

12. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said storage devicefurther comprises means for directing a flow of air through saidcontainer.

13. The combination as set forth in claim 12 wherein said means directsthe flow of air in the same direction as the advance of weft materialthrough said container.

14. The combination as set forth in claim 12 wherein said means includesa sievelike bottom in said container and an air suction meanscommunicating through said sievelike bottom for drawing a stream of airfrom the top of said container through said sievelike bottom.

15. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said storage devicefurther includes drive means for driving the weft material into saidcontainer and a control means for controlling said drive means tocontrol the quantity of weft material laid into said container per unitof time in response to the quantity of weft material in said container.

16. The combination as set forth in claim 15 wherein said control meansincludes at least one photoelectric means mounted on said container todetect the presence of weft material at a predetermined level in saidcontainer and to emit a signal in response thereto for changing thespeed of said drive means.

17. The combination as set forth in claim 16 wherein said photoelectricmeans includes a light source on one side of said container and aphotoelectric cell on the opposite side in offset relation to said lightsource whereby the range from said light source can pass through aplurality of portions of the weft material in said container.

18. in combination with a weft bobbin having a supply of weft materialthereon and disposed outside a shed of a weaving machine, a storagedevice for storing the weft material comprising a container positionedbetween said weft bobbin and said shed for receiving and laying in acertain length of weft material and means for electrically dischargingweft material containing a synthetic plastic material supplied to saidcontainer.

19. The combination as set forth in claim 18 wherein said means includesa bath of antistatic fluid for coating the weft material.

20. The combination as set forth in claim 19 wherein said storage devicefurther comprises a drive means having at least

1. In combination with a weft bobbin having a supply of weft materialthereon and disposed outside a shed of a weaving machine, a storagedevice for storing the weft material comprising a container positionedbetween said weft bobbin and said shed for receiving and laying in acertain length of weft material said container having a first opening atone end for receiving the weft material from said weft bobbin and asecond opening at an opposite end for delivering the stored weftmaterial to said shed.
 2. The combination as set forth in claim 1wherein the weft material is a weft tape and said container is of boxshape having an internal width sized to receive the width of the wefttape whereby the weft tape can be laid into said container in the formof loops.
 3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein saidcontainer is curved between said openings.
 4. In combination with a weftbobbin having a supply of weft material thereon and disposed outside ashed of a weaving machine, a storage device for storing the weftmaterial comprising a container positioned between said weft bobbin andsaid shed for receiving and laying in a certain length of weft materialsaid container being curved with an inlet opening at one end forreceiving the weft tape and an outlet opening at the same level as saidinlet opening at the opposite end for withdrawal of the stored wefttape.
 5. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said storagedevice further comprises a drive means between said weft bobbin and saidcontainer for directing the weft material towards said container.
 6. Thecombination as set forth in claim 5 wherein said drive means iscontinuous in structure.
 7. The combination as set forth in claim 5wherein said drive means cooperates with said weft bobbin to drive saidweft bobbin directly.
 8. The combination as set forth in claim 5 whereinsaid drive means includes a pair of pulleys for gripping the weftmaterial therebetween, and a motor means for rotating at least one ofsaid pulleys to withdraw the weft material from said weft bobbin.
 9. Thecombination as set forth in claim 5 which further comprises a brakingmeans connected with said weft bobbin for braking the rotation of saidweft bobbin.
 10. In combination with a weft bobbin having a supply ofweft material thereon and disposed outside a shed of a weaving machine,a storage device for storing the weft material comprising a containerpositioned between said weft bobbin and said shed for receiving andlaying in a certain length of weft material and a movable guide meansupstream of said container for guiding the weft material into saidcontainer in a regular fashion to form tHe weft material into loopswithin said container.
 11. The combination as set forth in claim 10wherein said storage device further comprises a drive means between saidweft bobbin and said guide means for directing the weft material towardssaid container, said drive means being connected to said movable guidemeans to oscillate said guide means in response to actuation of saiddrive means.
 12. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidstorage device further comprises means for directing a flow of airthrough said container.
 13. The combination as set forth in claim 12wherein said means directs the flow of air in the same direction as theadvance of weft material through said container.
 14. The combination asset forth in claim 12 wherein said means includes a sievelike bottom insaid container and an air suction means communicating through saidsievelike bottom for drawing a stream of air from the top of saidcontainer through said sievelike bottom.
 15. The combination as setforth in claim 1 wherein said storage device further includes drivemeans for driving the weft material into said container and a controlmeans for controlling said drive means to control the quantity of weftmaterial laid into said container per unit of time in response to thequantity of weft material in said container.
 16. The combination as setforth in claim 15 wherein said control means includes at least onephotoelectric means mounted on said container to detect the presence ofweft material at a predetermined level in said container and to emit asignal in response thereto for changing the speed of said drive means.17. The combination as set forth in claim 16 wherein said photoelectricmeans includes a light source on one side of said container and aphotoelectric cell on the opposite side in offset relation to said lightsource whereby the range from said light source can pass through aplurality of portions of the weft material in said container.
 18. Incombination with a weft bobbin having a supply of weft material thereonand disposed outside a shed of a weaving machine, a storage device forstoring the weft material comprising a container positioned between saidweft bobbin and said shed for receiving and laying in a certain lengthof weft material and means for electrically discharging weft materialcontaining a synthetic plastic material supplied to said container. 19.The combination as set forth in claim 18 wherein said means includes abath of antistatic fluid for coating the weft material.
 20. Thecombination as set forth in claim 19 wherein said storage device furthercomprises a drive means having at least one pulley for contacting anddirecting the weft material towards said container, and said bath ofantistatic fluid is disposed in a dish below said pulley, said dishbeing positioned for dipping of said pulley thereinto.
 21. Thecombination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said container is in theform of a box having a width which is less than the length thereof andless than the height thereof.